Nazi sympathizer invades pitch during Ghana-Germany game

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RIO DE JANEIRO — FIFA’s plea to eliminate racism at this year’s World Cup continues to fall on deaf ears.

Despite a vehement campaign from the organization and pleas and public service announcements from teams and players, it has been one of the overriding themes of the 2014 World Cup.

The anti-discrimination Fare network, which made reports to FIFA about the matter on Thursday, noted that there were several neo-Nazi signs at matches involving Russia and Croatia.

And on Saturday, it took center stage again when a Nazi sympathizer rushed the field during the Ghana-Germany game. No security attempted to stop him as he took his shirt off to reveal a pro-Nazi message. He had to be ushered off the field by Ghana midfielder Sulley Muntari.

Several German fans also showed up to the game with their faces painted black.

It sure seems like FIFA and stadium security personnel could do a much better job of finding these people and escorting them out of the stadium. After all, a campaign to eliminate racism isn’t much of a campaign if you don’t do something to actually help stop it from happening.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter Follow @YahooDrSaturday